Centralia. Eng. Hilbert Schwarz

      A ghost town cursed by a Catholic priest in 1868. Now there will always be a flame burning under this place. Even despite the deadly danger, due to carbon monoxide, people still continue to live here. In fact, Centralia was located only near the entrance to the underground mines, so the city remained practically harmless after several small fires. More burning coal was located under another town, not far from Centralia. It was called the Quiet Hill.

      Chapter 1: School

      Back to school… It’s so monotonous to get up at the same time every day, drink tea with sandwiches… Even if you are still asleep, you will still get up like a robot. The brain is still asleep, but the body is working, something similar to zombie syndrome. You think: “When will this nightmare finally end?” But wait… It’s Saturday, and I just dreamed about it.…

      Alex graduated from high school a long time ago, but he was still in college.

      Centralia attracted him with its mystery, and when the city was completely rebuilt, he moved from one state to another. His parents stayed where they lived. He was paid for his studies, as he studied very well, and with the scholarship he earned, it was quite possible to rent a small room. A lot of tourists came here almost every day to say, “I’ve been to this damn city!”

      Nothing changes. People stay the same and pursue their desires. But sooner or later, everyone eventually dies, all our thoughts, desires, almost everything except memory and actions, turns to dust. We are powerless before time.

      If you compare Alex with other people, he has always been a quiet, unflappable guy, in fact, that’s why he was not the center of attention of the society in which he was. His distinctive character trait was the ability to help anyone in need whenever possible. Alex himself was a thin young man with broad shoulders and slightly above average height. He looked like some kind of animal: a shaggy head with brown hair, gray eyes and a pointed nose. He lived alone in a small apartment, as there was not enough space in the small dormitory, everything was filled with women. Well, the guys were placed in apartments. But there are advantages here: a separate bathroom, kitchen and bedroom.

      Nothing is more invigorating in the early hours of a Saturday morning than a mug of hot coffee. Suddenly, the phone on the bedside table rang.

      – Yes? – Alex replied sleepily.

      – Alex! Have you seen what’s going on outside? – Sarah was shouting into the phone.

      Sarah was his college friend. Blonde with brown eyes and not too attractive appearance, she was a year younger than Alex. She recently turned eighteen, and despite the fact that almost all her friends were at her birthday party, Alex was not there, he does not like noisy companies.

      – No, I’m going to look out the window, – he replied in the same hoarse voice and looked out the window.

      The whole street was covered with a wavering thick fog, and the houses opposite were barely visible. Sarah screamed into the phone again, like a little girl seeing fog for the first time:

      – Great! Really? Listen, Megan, Bill, and Tedd and I are going out somewhere, are you with us?

      Megan was the exact opposite of Sarah. A pretty girl that the whole college was looking at. A brunette with blue eyes, a charming face and a slender figure. Despite the rich selection of guys, for some reason she became interested in Alex. Probably because he is the quietest and most unflappable of all, but the fact is that Alex did not look at any of the girls, he was constantly busy with drawings. Therefore, so that she would not be bored, Megan got herself dogs…

      Bill and Tedd look like ordinary dumb jocks. They loved to make fun of Alex, but recently they started having life problems when they humiliated him every time, so no one touched him for several weeks. Someone even laughed, calling Alex a sorcerer and a witcher, as if he was making voodoo dolls and avenging bullying. But that wasn’t true either. The usual gossip.

      – So, are you coming with us? Megan’s voice came on the line.

      – Where are we going? Alex asked, rubbing his eyes.

      – We want to go to the Quiet Hill.

      Alex frowned. He knew this place, had read a lot about it. In the 90s, psychopaths took their victims there, the danger was not only in the fire underground. The prison convoy disappeared five years ago, deciding to take a shortcut along an abandoned highway.

      – No, and I don’t advise you to go there, there’s nothing to do, it’s too dangerous, – he said seriously.

      – Oh, come on, all they say about this city is that it’s still closed, and stories about rapists and prison cars are gossip, just like about you in college, – Sarah chimed in. Bill and Tedd laughed.:

      – Yes, he’s a coward, there’s nothing to convince him, and we’ll do without him, he’s a nerd..

      There were always things in Alex’s life that he didn’t want to remember himself, it was a similar case. He didn’t like being called a coward, and he suffered from it himself.

      – I’m not a coward, I’m coming with you, – he replied decisively, – wait for me near the exit.

      Throwing on his jacket and putting his phone in his pocket, he quickly left the apartment.

      There was still a white fog on the street, the road was almost invisible, but the glowing headlights made it clear that a car was approaching. Without thinking twice, Alex headed to the outskirts of the city.

      A few minutes later he went out onto the highway, there was no one there. There was silence all around, only the sounds of passing cars could be heard from the city.

      “Maybe, as always, I was deceived? Another prank to get me outside?” He thought to himself. After a while, the sound of a car was heard in the fog. She was approaching him. Eventually she stopped, and Tedd looked out the window:

      – Sit down, don’t get the seats dirty.

      Alex silently opened the rear door of the semi-sports car and got inside. Megan was sitting next to him, but he didn’t show that he was embarrassed, although he was a little uncomfortable. Bill was driving the car, Alex warned him:

      – If you want to reach your destination safely, I recommend turning on the headlights.

      Bill just grinned, but turned on the headlights.

      The road turned out to be a little longer than it seemed at first glance. It was about 10 kilometers long, as if it was twice as long, or even three times as long. One thing was good, there was no fog as thick as in the city.

      Tedd was

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